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MAAA Archives

The Archives @ MAAA

As we continue to engage with the ongoing project of digitizing the archives and institutional records at the nonprofit Museum of African American Art, we are uncovering documents, photos, and ephemera that chronicle the museum's early years, give insight into relationships between MAAA founder Dr. Samella Lewis and other artists, and reveal connections among MAAA, arts organizations, and grantmaking institutions in Los Angeles. We look forward to digitizing and sharing primary source material from the MAAA archives, so that we can fully chronicle and authoritatively voice the museum's important history for all audiences, while supporting research by students, researchers, curators, authors, and documentary filmmakers.

MAAA Logo by Howard smith

  • The hand-painted "MAAA" logo on wood panel (shown below, left) is the museum's original logo design created around 1979 by Howard Smith (1928-2021), an African American artist born in New Jersey who spent most of his career as an artist and designer in Finland. Howard Smith was a friend and contemporary of the museum's founder, Dr. Samella Lewis. The MAAA archives include transcripts of an interview between the two artists, as well as exhibition ephemera. A poster for The Museum of African American Art Los Angeles dated 1980 (shown below, right) features iconic artwork by Howard Smith as well as the "MAAA" logo that Smith designed for the museum circa 1979. Learn More About Artist Howard Smith

  • The Art & Design of Howard Smith, Palm Springs Art Museum https://www.psmuseum.org/art/exhibitions/howard-smith

  • The Howard Smith Website https://howardsmith.info
Original "MAAA" logo by Howard Smith, paint on wood panel, circa 1979.
"The Museum of African American Art Los Angeles" poster, dated 1980, art and logo by Howard Smith.

MAAA Posters & Certificates

City of Los Angeles, Congratulations, MAAA 40th Anniversary, February 27, 2016.
(MAAA Exhibition Poster) "Echoes of Our Past: The Narrative Artistry of Palmer C. Hayden," April 15–July 31, 1988.
City of Los Angeles, Certificate of Appreciation, Museum of African American Art, February 8, 2013.
"Magic, Myths, and Visions: A Diasporan Exhibition of the Museum of African American Art," Los Angeles County Fair, September – October 1983.
Certificate of Special Appreciation, Museum of African American Art Maxine Waters, Member of Congress, February 22, 2014.
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